Titanium
by HiddenFlowerDesi
Summary: After being blinded by a mysterious light, Cloud and co find their selves thrown back in time in order to prevent the death of the planet and its innocent people. Obviously due to the throw back, Zack and Aerith are back and they remember everything. They're thrown back right before Zack and Cloud escaped the manor. Rating due to gore and rough language
1. Days of Norm

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FF:VII OR ANY OF ITS BELOVED CHARACTERS**

* * *

It was a calm day at first, Tifa was wiping down the bar, humming a song she'd heard Marlene singing a few days prior, and Cloud was sitting at one of the bar's many tables, lost in his thoughts, which were abnormally happy for once. It was already one o' clock and 7th Heaven had yet to receive any customers, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence on Mondays, and the children were at school. After two years without it, most of the children had no opposition to going back. It was better than sitting on the sidewalk doing nothing, especially to those who had spent so many days in bed due to the geostigma. Tifa started slightly when the phone rang, breaking the thick silence.

"7th Heaven, home of Strife's Delivery Service. Hmm?" Tifa's carefree tone quickly changed to a much more serious one as she shifted the phone from where it had been resting between her ear and shoulder to her hand, abandoning the rag on the bar's sleek surface. "This is her… I see… Is she okay? Oh, good. We'll head there right away. Thank you," she said hanging the phone up to find Cloud staring intently at her. Her quick change of mood had snapped Cloud out of his pleasant daydream and he was eager to find out who she was talking to and why they had called.

"So?" He questioned, making his way to the counter.

"That was Marlene's teacher. Apparently she fell off the slide during recess and hurt her arm. They don't think it's broke, but they're sending her to the hospital to make sure. I don't want to make her walk all the back here after all that, so I'd appreciate it if you'd came with," she replied, hopeful. Cloud shrugged.

"Not like there's anything else to do."

* * *

Looking up at the hospital gave Cloud an all too familiar feeling in his stomach, but he tried to ignore it as he followed Tifa through the sliding doors. Two steps in, the sterile smell of antiseptic hit his nose and caused him to stop in his tracks and pale considerably.

"Tifa," He whispered, barely audible as he grabbed her cape, almost making her trip. "I… I don't… I can't be here…"

Tifa immediately understood what he meant and hugged him in an attempt to calm him before telling him to wait outside, that they'd be out in twenty minutes tops. Cloud sighed in relief before shakily making his way back to Finrir. Fifteen minutes later Tifa came through the sliding doors with Marlene in tow and explained that her wrist had only been sprained and that she had to wear a splint on it until it's healed, to which Marlene replied, "It's no biggie" earning a smile from Cloud.

"And look, the doctor gave me candy!" Marlene cheered, waving two grape flavored dum-dums in Clouds face. "At first, the doctor only gave me one, but he gave me another after I asked if I could get one for Denzel."

"That was nice of you," Cloud stated as he started Finrir up.

By the time the trio arrived home, school had already let out and Denzel was inside working on his homework. His eyes shot to Marlene as soon as she walked through the door.

"Marlene, are you okay? I heard that you got hurt and had to leave early. I didn't believe at first, but I did when I couldn't find you after the bell rang." His eyes drifted to the wrapping around her arm. "It's not broken is it?"

Marlene simply shook her head in response before holding out a sucker for him to take.

"What's that for?"

"For you, silly. I convinced the doctor to give me two so that you could have one," she said, grinning.

"Really!? Thanks!"

"You're very welcome."

"If you didn't know better, you think they were actually siblings. I mean, technically they _are_ , but I mean blood wise," Tifa whispered to Cloud after the children ran upstairs to play, abandoning their homework for later. Tifa didn't care as long as it got done before they went to bed.

A small smile formed on Cloud's face, but it quickly turned into a grimace due to the blinding light that quickly spread throughout the room. He couldn't help but close his eyes in an attempt to save his eyes from the tormenting light, but when he opened them…

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 **Hahahahahaha! I love cliffhangers!**

 **I'll work on typing up the next chapter soon, but until then...**

 **CLOUD: REVIEW!**


	2. The Pendulum Swings in Reverse

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NO OWN FINAL FANTASY VII OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.**

 **Also, how many of you have heard about the PS4 remake to FFVII?**

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Cloud

I opened my eyes to find myself in a cell in the Shinra Mansion with Zack sitting beside me looking as horrified and confused as I felt, but he couldn't possibly be Zack. The Zack I knew died four years ago on that damned cliff. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I think… I think Ifalna did this. I think she sent us back five years," he said, "But I really wish she didn't send us so far back that we ended up back in this hell hole."

"What are you talking about? Sent us back?" I questioned the man that I wasn't quite convinced was my long lost friend.

"Um, well. I think the Cetra sent us and a few others back in time to fix the planet. Due to things like the Geostigma, the planet had more internal damage than it could handle. The Cetra that managed to stay undiffused like Aerith and Ifalna were pretty upset about it. I guess they want us to do things differently this time around," he explained. His voice was calm, but his eyes revealed how nervous he really was and I couldn't blame him. If we hadn't escaped we probably would've died in this horrible place.

I instinctively met Zack's eyes and in that moment I knew it was really him. I also knew that this wasn't some fucked up dream that I was going to wake up from. I felt both joyous and terrified at the same time. Then suddenly what he had said hit me.

"Wait. Do things differently? It was hard enough to do the first time around and now we're expected to do it again without accidentally tainting that planet? What do they expect us to do, talk Sephiroth out of calling Meteor for that thing he calls mother? Then what, we all hold hands and sing kum-by-fucking-ya!?" I couldn't keep the hysteria from creeping into my voice as I practically screamed this.

 _.Tmp._

I knew that sound. It was the sound of Hojo's overly expensive leather shoes as he approached the door leading into the lab. My hair stood on end as I watched the devil himself walk into the room. He cackled evilly as he pushed his glasses back up his nose, his eyes gleaming in twisted curiosity.

"Hojo," Zack growled.

" _Zack,_ " I hissed under my breath, not wanting him to be targeted by the psychopath.

"My, my. Aren't the two of you feisty today, especially you, Specimen A," He said, looking at Zack. His attention then turned towards me. "And your energy levels seem to have drastically improved since yesterday, Specimen B."

I felt something snap deep within me. "We have names."

"We're not your toys. Lets us go," Zack demanded, even though we both knew it was in vain.

"Oh? How interesting. It's been such a long while since either of you have been this energetic. Maybe I should-"

"Professor, we have a serious problem!" An assistant screamed as he frantically burst through the door.

"What is it, you fool? Can't you see I'm busy?" Hojo snapped.

"It's Valentine. He's gone."

"What do you mean by gone? The thing's locked in a coffin. There's no possible way for him to be gone," Hojo said, crossing his arms, "Eh, it's not like he was of any use to me. It's just one less thing for me to worry about."

The way he spoke of Vincent irked me to no end. At least he called us specimens, Vincent didn't even get that much from the man.

"About that," the assistant mumbled, "He kinda swiped a couple of irreplaceable documents."

"Irreplaceable how?"

"Jenova files, the Nibelhiem incident, and everything that so much as mentions Sephiroth."

"How unfortunate," he mumbled, his voice dangerously low. He gave me a look that made me want to scream and cry and run for the only time he ever gave us that look was when he planned on taking out his anger on us.

I closed my eyes as a sudden fit of nausea overcame me. I couldn't help but remember all the times he'd dragged one of us away while the other desperately tried to cling to the one being taken all the while screaming for him to stop, to leave us _alone_ , but it was useless. He'd get his hefty guard to take over and he'd drag whichever one he'd chosen to another room and make them scream until they passed out from the pain. I didn't know what was worse, being the one experimented on or being stuck in the cell hoping that he didn't kill Zack.

"Professor?"

"You take care of it. I'm busy," Hojo growled, eying me.

"Yes, sir," the assistant said before hurrying out of the lab.

"Hojo, leave him alone," Zack warned as he pulled me behind him.

"Nico," Hojo called to the hefty man lounging in the corner of the room looking as if he was on the verge of sleep. He grumbled as he made his way over to the cell. "Get me the blond."

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 **Dun dun dun!**

 **I'm not going to lie, I enjoy torturing my favorites, which is unlucky for Zack and Cloud, hahaha!**

 **Anyhoo, I plan on saving them real soon, so don't worry.**

 **In case you're confused about the timing of this fic, the first chapter occurs 1 year after Dirge of Cerberus and they got thrown back 5 years prior. The day they landed on is the day Zack and Cloud escaped the first time, but this time they aren't able due to various reasons.**

 **ZACK: Review!**


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